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F Ryan Leonard - Boston College, NCAA (2023, 8th, WSH)

Chimaera said:
The question on being a driver is his size. He’s not disadvantaged in the WJC or College being smaller. In the NHL? I dunno. He’s gotta keep getting stronger to play the impact game he tries
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Is Leonard "smaller"? 6 foot, over 200lbs.... Maybe for the game he plays, sure, he isn't built like Brady Tkachuk or Marcus Foligno, but he isn't as physical as them either. Similar build to guys like Trocheck, Vatrano, Bennett, etc who all play big, physical minutes
 
qc14 said:
I think the comps to Oshie are that they both are pests/grinders without being big or dirty. They also are obviously both American, and do have a tendency to fall down a lot and get lit up by a hit fairly frequently.

In terms of offensive style though, I think he's much closer to Konecny or Garland, or even a Hagel or B Tkachuk than Oshie.
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I think the best comparison is Parise.

qc14 said:
I disagree with this, even if he's not been scoring as many points to me he's been the clear driver of both the Smith and Hagens versions of the BC line and the driver of that same line at the WJC.
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I think when people say the word driver the macro is who is the player that most impacts being a positive line offensively and defensively. Who is the player that is the player that is most dictating the analytics of the line?

As for the micro, typically, it’s the center. Typically, that’s a player who is a great puck handler and passer and has great hockey sense.

That’s why I’ve said in the past that Smith was the line driver from the initial line. It’s not to say Leonard and Perreault leached off of him, but Smith fit the prototype of a driver more than the other two.

Now with Hagens, it feels like the line has evolved a little bit. Hagens will likely be the biggest driver eventually. He has all the makings of a true driver in the NHL, but he’s also a year and a half younger than the other two and adjusting to levels the other two have been comfortable playing at already. That’s why I’d say this year there’s no one driver and they all have taken turns this year at it.
 
Pavel Buchnevich said:
I think the best comparison is Parise.


I think when people say the word driver the macro is who is the player that most impacts being a positive line offensively and defensively. Who is the player that is the player that is most dictating the analytics of the line?

As for the micro, typically, it’s the center. Typically, that’s a player who is a great puck handler and passer and has great hockey sense.

That’s why I’ve said in the past that Smith was the line driver from the initial line. It’s not to say Leonard and Perreault leached off of him, but Smith fit the prototype of a driver more than the other two.

Now with Hagens, it feels like the line has evolved a little bit. Hagens will likely be the biggest driver eventually. He has all the makings of a true driver in the NHL, but he’s also a year and a half younger than the other two and adjusting to levels the other two have been comfortable playing at already. That’s why I’d say this year there’s no one driver and they all have taken turns this year at it.
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Parise is definitely a great comp as well. I agree with you on the "driver" definition but I guess I would disagree in that I think he did the vast majority of the work on that line last year, especially defensively and retrieving pucks.

That to me is honestly where the comparison between Leonard and Wilson makes the most sense -- Perrault and Smith/Hagens are no doubt light years ahead of late-career Ovi and Kuzy in terms of the little things but for years Wilson was the driver of that line by just doing every single bit of dirty work in all areas of the ice.

I do think it will be interesting in the NHL though whether Leonard will be best suited to that role or something a little different.
 
Fantastic player, seriously skilled and can drive the play on his own

Unfortunately dives more than anyone I’ve ever watched play hockey as well
 
The Devilish Buffoon said:
Is Leonard "smaller"? 6 foot, over 200lbs.... Maybe for the game he plays, sure, he isn't built like Brady Tkachuk or Marcus Foligno, but he isn't as physical as them either. Similar build to guys like Trocheck, Vatrano, Bennett, etc who all play big, physical minutes
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Is he 6ft now? I know it’s an inch here or there. But he plays a game where he’s taking punishment
 
I don't see the Parise comparison, at all. I see Dylan Holloway, who was a man amongst boys at the college level. Really good speed, strength, and enough skill to be at least a secondary scorer in the NHL. I think it will really help Leonard that he wasn't rushed into the pros, like Holloway was.

I know this comparison would've seemed ridiculous to some just a few months ago, but Holloway finally seems to be clicking in the NHL. Hopefully Leonard has better luck, but spending that extra year in college can be really valuable, IMO.
 
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57special said:
I don't see the Parise comparison, at all. I see Dylan Holloway, who was a man amongst boys at the college level. Really good speed, strength, and enough skill to be at least a secondary scorer in the NHL. I think it will really help Leonard that he wasn't rushed into the pros, like Holloway was.

I know this comparison would've seemed ridiculous to some just a few months ago, but Holloway finally seems to be clicking in the NHL. Hopefully Leonard has better luck, but spending that extra year in college can be really valuable, IMO.
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Holloways way bigger and not as dynamic east-west as leonard. But I see what you're saying. Leonards skill level is a little higher end imo.

As a Blues fan tho, lovin holloway haha
 
Always been a fan. Thought he had a great WJCs and could have had a couple more goals. My kind of player that's in the guts of the game.

Reminds me of Kadri, love a young guy with good net drive.
 
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I wanted Habs to draft Leonard, and predicted as much when the michkov leak went public that habs weren't drafting him.
Didn't happen.
It's hard to predict what he ends up in the pros. He's a shit disturber who plays with an edge and can score. Chilling: bigger version of Brad Marchand maybe?
 
Something to watch, BC broke up the Hagens, Leonard and Perrault line last night against Providence. Leonard is playing on the 2nd line with Gasseau and Jelvik. They’re still on the PP together but moved Leonard down to the bumper role. BC’s PP has struggled, mostly due to not being able to fill the bumper role competently imo. They’ve had trouble getting secondary scoring so the line swap was to try to balance out the scoring and Leonard can create on his own so I like it. The PP looked really good as well so I think both are really good moves for BC. You may see Leonard’s 5v5 scoring dip a bit though but that’s much less on Leonard and more of an inditement on Gasseau
 
Leonard is now leading the NCAA in goals per game. He’s at .82 ahead of Issac Howard at .80 and then the gap widens to the next crop.

Leonard is going to have a lot of soft factors on his resume when it comes to awarding the Hobey Baker (top-10 draft pick, turned down an ELC to return to college, MVP of the WJC, assistant captain on one of the more high-profile teams in recent memory), so leading the country in goals should be a counting stat that carries a lot of weight in his favor.
 
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goal from Friday:


assist from Saturday:


What's notable about both these two plays and the goal posted above is that all three were created with his speed, especially the goal from Friday.

I feel crazy every time I write this, but I think Leonard should be modeling his game after MacKinnon. Obviously, he's not going to be that good, but they're almost exactly the same size, so MacKinnon is a good example of how to play physically at that size. Plus, MacKinnon is also a volume shooter with great speed. Leonard isn't as fast and probably never will be, but I think speed will end up being a very important component of his game in the NHL.
 
Juxtaposer said:
Is no one going to mention that two of the goals were empty net?

"Hat trick" sounds great, until you add the caveat that only one of the goals was actually defended by a goalie.
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I mean sure, but he is leading the NCAA in goals per game this year and was third in goals in the NCAA last year as a freshman. This one "hat trick" might have been derived from a couple of empty netters, but we have years worth of data to show that he he is a goal scorer through and through, so celebrating another occasion where he scored goals feels fine.
 
Wieters said:
I mean sure, but he is leading the NCAA in goals per game this year and was third in goals in the NCAA last year as a freshman. This one "hat trick" might have been derived from a couple of empty netters, but we have years worth of data to show that he he is a goal scorer through and through, so celebrating another occasion where he scored goals feels fine.
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Sure. But saying a guy had a hat trick when two of the goals were on empty nets and not clarifying that fact is pretty funny, you have to admit. Especially when it put all these thread-watchers into a tizzy.

It's like saying "Ryan Leonard had five points in two games against BU this weekend!!" and not mentioning that he had three empty net goals to pad those stats.
 
Juxtaposer said:
Sure. But saying a guy had a hat trick when two of the goals were on empty nets and not clarifying that fact is pretty funny, you have to admit. Especially when it put all these thread-watchers into a tizzy.

It's like saying "Ryan Leonard had five points in two games against BU this weekend!!" and not mentioning that he had three empty net goals to pad those stats.
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Fair enough! Both things can be true (that it was a bit of a fluke for a three-goal game and that he is an elite goal scorer). Regardless, as an Eagle, any excuse to throw the hats on BU's ice will be welcomed.
 
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wickedwitch said:
goal from Friday:


assist from Saturday:


What's notable about both these two plays and the goal posted above is that all three were created with his speed, especially the goal from Friday.

I feel crazy every time I write this, but I think Leonard should be modeling his game after MacKinnon. Obviously, he's not going to be that good, but they're almost exactly the same size, so MacKinnon is a good example of how to play physically at that size. Plus, MacKinnon is also a volume shooter with great speed. Leonard isn't as fast and probably never will be, but I think speed will end up being a very important component of his game in the NHL.
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It sounds really crazy
 
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